America's Benefit Specialist October 2022

Maine. Tony Arruda, founder and CEO of Senior Planning Center, will become a partner in Integrity, and Stephanie O’Leary will become president of Senior Planning Center. Nearly two decades ago, Arruda rec ognized the important need to assist Maine’s seniors in providing planning and guidance for their healthcare and financial future. He founded Senior Planning Center in 2012 to focus on meeting the Medicare needs of cli ents throughout the state, providing support that extended from urban to rural areas. The company is now one of the leading Medicare coverage experts and distributors in the state, serving thousands of seniors annually through a broad network of walk in service locations that also specialize in connecting seniors to community resources. Finally, Integrity has entered into an agreement to acquire Senior Resource Ser vices, an IMO based in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Rob Williams, president and founder of Senior Resource Services, will become a managing partner in Integrity. Senior Resource Services offers Medicare Supplement plans, life insurance, long-term care planning and annuities for Medicare beneficiaries and retirees. Senior Resource Services serves almost 20,000 clients an nually, placing over $25 million of annual premium year after year.

full-services employee benefits solutions to clients in California and is headquartered in Folsom. Tom Avery will continue to lead Innovative Broker Services under Relation going forward. PCF INSURANCE SERVICES ACQUIRES APPLE INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES PCF Insurance Services recently an nounced the acquisition of Florida-based insurance broker Apple Insurance and Financial Services. Apple Insurance is a well-known individual health and Medicare insurance agency based in Ft. Lauderdale, offering access to Florida Blue, a top carrier in the space. “Apple Insurance is a one-stop shop for insurance in the South Florida market with a diverse portfolio of insurance projects,” said Rick Jultak, principal at Apple Insur ance. “With PCF, we have a clear path to creating valuable strategic partners with other top-tier insurance agencies through out the country.” In 2022, PCF Insurance has completed 104 acquisitions. INTEGRITY CONTINUES GROWTH Integrity Marketing Group LLC recent ly completed several acquisitions. It has acquired Compass Group Insurance, an

independent marketing organization based in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Nestor Sala, pres ident of Compass, will become a managing partner in Integrity. Sala founded Compass Group Insurance in 2006 to help seniors better understand and navigate the constantly evolving Medicare landscape. Compass trains agents to guide clients to the best Medi care Advantage and Medicare supplement coverage available to them, as well as provide high-quality hospital indemnity products. The Compass team of nearly 1,000 agents serves almost 55,000 clients nationwide. Integrity has entered into an agreement to acquire Heartland Financial Group, an IMO based outside Kansas City, Missouri. Heartland’s executive team of Todd Hill, president and CEO, Bill Cole, chief oper ating officer, and Tegrey Moot, chief sales officer, will become managing directors at Integrity. Heartland was founded in 1992 by industry veteran Chris McDaniel to provide life, health and annuity products to the se nior market. Heartland has additional office locations in Mississippi, Florida, Okla homa and California, and supports more than 65,000 actively contracted agents. In 2021, Heartland completed approximately 165,000 applications and placed $270 mil lion in annual premium. Integrity has acquired Senior Planning Center, an IMO based in Farmington,

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